1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moisture indication device that is permanently affixed to a building in order to detect and alert to the presence of moisture penetration through the building's exterior envelope.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Stucco systems and the closely related EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems) are very popular exterior cladding systems that tend to be found on higher end homes. These beautiful systems give a building a warm and inviting feel and are very beautiful, however, they are not without problems. Stucco and similar systems (the term “stucco” being used broadly hereinafter to include such similar systems) are very durable claddings. Standing alone, in that a portion of a building that is purely stucco (a flat wall for example), the system will tend to have an extremely low rate of failure even in the harshest of conditions. The problem with such finishing systems lies at boundary areas such as doors, windows, laundry vents, etc., where two and more often three different types of materials arrive at the same proximity. If the stucco system is sealed properly and according to the particular manufacturer's specifications, problems with the stucco tend to be low. However, as anyone who has ever witnessed a building construction site, proper sealing of stucco (or any other building component for that matter) is not always the case. If the stucco is not sealed properly, then water may penetrate into the building past the stucco system, especially over time as the various materials expand and contract at different rates with the changes in temperature. Although modern silicone sealants are used at stucco transition points where stucco meets doors, windows, etc., which sealants are very durable and long-lasting, a bad sealing job can easily trump even the best sealants available, and even the best sealants can fail over time even if properly installed.
Water penetration into the exterior of the building can be very damaging especially if the damaging effects are allowed to percolate. The water can be absorbed by the wall insulation which is in “dead space” within the exterior walls and therefore the insulation tends to hold the water. As the insulation is in contact with the lumber used to construct the wall, the lumber begins to decay, resulting in wood rot. As most building exterior envelope failures tend to occur about doors and windows, there is a strong possibility that the wood rot is occurring on a load bearing component of the building. If sufficient time passes without the wood rot being corrected, structural failure of a portion of the building can occur. Additionally, the water within the relatively warm interior space of the building tends to incubate mold, which mold can be extremely dangerous to the health of occupants of the building especially those with breathing difficulties or compromised immune systems. Remediation of mold infestation within a building can be a daunting task. Furthermore, the water also attacks the cladding itself causing failure from the inside out.
One problematic aspect of water penetration is that it is generally not observed by the building's occupants until serious damage has occurred. It is not uncommon to have a building owner first discover that water penetration problems exist during a routine building inspection as part of the sale of the building. It is also not uncommon to have a remediation tab of $10,000.00, $20,000.00, or even much higher. And as an added insult, many insurance policies are trending away from coverage of any mold or other fungal damage.
Although stucco systems are prone to failure from improper sealing, other types of exterior finishing systems may also fail with the attendant problems associated with such failure.
One basic method to combat stucco failure is to have a quality stucco person perform the installation and/or have the job inspected. However, it is usually the builder who selects the subs to work on the building and builders oftentimes are motivated first by profit. As long as the building can withstand the one year builder's warranty which most builder's give (or are required to give), the builder is home free. Generally, only the most egregious envelope failures are detected in the first year of a building's life, therefore, many builders opt for the lowest bid (and highest profit to the builder) sub with quality being simply a variable. Most general building inspectors will catch obvious stucco problems but detailed analysis of the building's envelope tends to be outside of the scope of such inspections.
Another method to combat stucco seal failure is to have a specialized inspection of the building's envelope performed periodically, preferably yearly. Such specialized inspections involve an analysis of all critical points of the stucco finish either by inserting a moisture detection probe into the wall of the building from the exterior of the building, or more recently, using non-invasive infrared moisture detection systems to “see” into the walls for possible moisture presence. By being performed yearly, any failure that occurs can be caught and remedied relatively quickly and relatively inexpensively. Such inspections have the effect of reducing the damage caused by envelope failures, although a penetration that lasts for six months can still do substantial damage. Additionally, such inspections can be quite expensive.
Another method employed is to install moisture detection systems directly into the building, usually during original construction of the building. Typically such systems work by providing an open electrical circuit within the detection device and should water penetrate the envelope and come in contact with the device, the water closes the electrical circuit thereby activating some form of alarm to alert the building's owner or occupant that a cladding failure has occurred. These systems, which work with varying degrees of efficiency, tend to be very expensive to install and are extremely difficult to install in existing structures. Some standalone mechanical devices have been proposed that are much easier to install into existing buildings, however, such devices tend to be complex in design and construction making such devices relatively expensive to manufacture.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a device that detects failure of a building's exterior cladding that results in water penetration past the failure point so that immediate corrective action can be taken so as to minimize the damage caused by the water penetration. Such a device must be relatively simple in design and construction so that it is readily affordable to a typical building owner that may have to purchase several dozen such devices to fully monitor a building. Such a device must be installable during building construction as well as after the building is complete.